Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources has released a bullish estimate of possible gas resources for its Lockyer gas project in Western Australia just as it negotiates with potential partners for a joint venture or sale that analysts say could be worth more than half a billion dollars.

MinRes, a mining services company that expanded into iron ore, lithium and gas, estimated “2C” contingent gas resources – industry shorthand for a highly uncertain category – at 435 petajoules of sales gas at the project, which could also hold 3.3 million barrels of condensates.